The South Earns Low Scores On America's Health Index

Thanks to a tweet from my county's executive, I took a gander at the state-by-state rankings of overall health. Guess where most of the low rankings exist? That's right: the southeast.

Why? Check out some of what these states were penalized for: obesity, childhood poverty, low graduation rates from high school, high rates of the uninsured, and violent crime. And there are reasons why these issues are more prevalent in these states than others (that's a whole other post).

I know the incoming Obama administration has promised to focus its energies closer to home as compared to the prior administration. I do hope they take a hard look at what parts of the country are suffering the most, why they're the way they ware, and target some novel solutions to them. Blanket solutions like tax cuts for the middle class won't hurt, but we need something more specific to cure these states' ills.

Southern Vodka?

Not sure if this product came to be because the South was naughty or nice, but there's apparently Sweet Tea and Muscadine Vodka available from a place called Firefly Distillery. This could either be very good or very bad. I'm hoping for the former. Who wants to send me a bottle (I doubt I can get it in WA)?

Washington Mutual Can't Compete With Online Savings Rates

Funny story today: I went to make a deposit at my local WaMu (now WaMuChase or whatever they're calling it). While in line, the teller asked me if I'd ever done an "account review" for potentially better savings rates. I said no, and asked for more info. She was very vague, and said she didn't want to "say something that wasn't right" and that this other person "could sit down with me and tell me what the latest rates are".

"Surely you can give me a summary?" I ask.

"No, I really can't - but TL over here can sit down with you and give you all the info."

I know WaMu's published rates. The teller made it seem like they had something special going on. Having a few minutes to spare, I agreed to consult with this TL person.

After a few minutes, TL (who is another one of the tellers) comes by, asks for ID, finds my info, and then starts to ask me a few things.

"So, are you looking for something more liquid or something like a CD?" he asks.

"It depends," I reply. "What are your rates?"

"Well," he says, after typing on his keyboard for a few moments. "We have a CD rate around 2.75 right now."

"No thanks," I say, "I'm getting 4% savings online, through another bank. And that's liquid."

"Ah," he says. More typing. Then, "we have a long term CD at 5%. What about that?"

"No, I can beat that online, too."

"OK, then," he concludes. "That's all I can offer."

OK, so just to summarize, these people asked me to take extra time out of my day so they could quote me their published (and somewhat sad) savings and CD rates? Give me a break.

Look up yields for CDs and for savings/money market accounts, and then compare with what WaMu offers. Then laugh. Then wonder how they're going to attract retail customers now that their thrift business has evaporated, and the competition is getting tougher.

The Big Picture's 2008 In Review

The Big Picture has published an excellent compilation of photojournalists' work over the past year. I found the compilation to be a reminder of stories that were glossed over by some news sources, yet still reflect a significant part of the year's events.

Here's part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Seattle Drivers Lose All Driving Experience When Snow Hits

I have proof!

Signs There's A Snowstorm In Seattle

From the WSDOT Incidents report:

Seattle Area Incidents

Seattle Area - Thursday Dec 18, 2008 - 07:53:25

INCIDENT INFORMATION ( * = New Incident / Update )

Current Operator: Peter L. , WSDOT

I-5 NORTHBOUND AT MID BOEING FIELD MILTI DISABLED VEHICLE BLOCKING ROADWAY VERIFIED WITH CAMERA 6:11 AM

I-405 NORTHBOUND AT I-90 MULTI DISABLED VEHICLE BLOCKING ROADWAY VERIFIED WITH CAMERA 6:08 AM

SR-520 WESTBOUND AT MARYMOOR PARK MULTI DISABLED VEHICLE BLOCKING ROADWAY VERIFIED WITH CAMERA 5:41 AM


** SR-169 AT KUMMER BRIDGE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Foot Detox Pads Are A Bunch Of BS

I'm surprised I still see foot detox pads being sold in stores and online. These things claim to pull toxins from your feet when you wear them, and brown stains on them is the supposed proof.

There are plenty of sources that refute this product's claims. Yet people keep trying to support them; check out some of the comments on this post.

Steer clear of this snake oil. Unless you really like to spend money on expensive placebos.

Why Do Local News Shows Advertise?

I find it amusing to watch local news shows advertise themselves on TV. Sure, they need ratings like every other show. But come on, it's local news.

• It's all pretty much the same. There's hardly any qualitative difference in the reporting they do. A bit of national and local "hard" news at the beginning, followed by a softer or investigative story, weather, sports, and we're done. The same formula, everywhere.
  
• I don't care how many Doppler radars you have or how many times you do on location live reports. It doesn't make me want to watch one show over another.
• You can get all this news and more, on demand, with video and audio if you choose, on the Internet.

I love it when they tout themselves and their resources, with that triumphant music in the background, as they spring into action to report the latest stories. Lame.

Photo: No stabbing area

The employees at Pike Place Fish at the Market have it right: the employee health center, by definition, should NOT be a stabbing area.

Deathcake Royale - One Day Only

This crossed my in-box today, and I may not be able to pass it up:

For one very special day only...let us give thanks for Deathcake!
This deadly dark chocolate concoction is BACK for one day only! Made with Theo Chocolate and Stumptown espresso, Deathcake Royale is truly the ultimate cupcake indulgence.

NOVEMBER 26th, 2008
Available for one day by special order only - Call to order yours today!

Ballard 206.782.9557 | Madrona 206.709.4497 | West Seattle 206.932.2971

* All orders must be received by NOON on Tuesday, November 25th *

If you haven't had a Deathcake yet, this is your chance!

Photo: Gus Face

Trying out our new 55-250 IS lens. Makes grabbing a sharp shot of the quick-moving Gus much easier.

Remix

FL Studio recently announced a remix contest. The original song is "One Day" by David Latour, a bouncy dance song. My remix of it changes several things up and makes the song a fair bit darker. I submitted my remix yesterday, but I thought I'd share it here for folks to listen to. Feel free to download and listen, and let me know what you think.

Election Zeitgeist, Courtesy Of Twitter

Want to get a sense of how the (technologically-inclined, Twitter-using) electorate is feeling about the election? Head on over to Election 2008 and see what people are tweeting about.

Honestly, this is scary stuff. A 5 minute sample (actual tweets, not in the conversation per se, all said in context & uncorrected):

• Is Biden going to live longer - he has gotten senile - old folks home in his next view - but will my taxes pay
• under Obama, small business will have to raise their prices
• dude my cat saw a picter of Obama and he hid for a week
• Obama is an American terriorist
• Because Obama is like communism great on paper
• Joe Biden is such an utter d-bag. Also, he's entirely too bald to run this country.
• This just in Obama, tells mainstream media he knows a Champion Snow Machiner too..

Honestly, this is like listening to gossip about a couple of kids on the grade-school playground. Why are people so flippant and shallow about their potential world leaders, especially during such a pivotal time?

The Corn Lobby Is Fighting Back

Seen this ad? It's from the High-Fructose Corn Syrup people. They want to convince you that HFCS is equivalent to sugar. Nutritionally, it is. But it's certainly not "all natural" as some would like to claim.

Fact is, HFCS is a highly processed ingredient. It goes through a multi-step enzymatic process. Its processing involves, according to the CSPI, "centrifuges, hydroclones, ion-exchange columns, and buckets of enzymes." Certainly not something you can do at home with an ear of corn and a pot on the stove.

SweetSurprise.com really wants you to think otherwise. To be fair, they do summarize the process on their site. But how can this process be called "natural"? Beats me.

Straight Man Soap

Sometimes, independent retailers are the coolest. Sure, they may not have the best prices or the best availability like some big-box retailers do. But they shine in personality and novelty where the Wal-Gets and Lowe-Depots of the world don't. Here's one example.

Bliss Soaps is a small shop on Capitol Hill's Broadway strip specializing in handmade soaps and other bath & body products. We've been a couple of times before, and stopped in not too long ago because our supply of soap was getting low.

As we were meandering through the small store, picking up and sniffing literally dozens of soaps, I came upon a turquoise blue block with a sea-foam edge to it. Intrigued by the color, I picked it up and smelled it. "Wow," I proclaim, "this smells pretty good!" It didn't have a distinct aroma like a fruit or a spice, but was rather a blend of scents, kind of like a cologne. I decide to add the block to our basket.

Upon checkout, the owner sorts our selections and starts ringing them up. When he arrives at my choice, he says, "Ah! Straight man soap."

I smile, cock my head, and ask, "that's not what it's called, is it?" I hadn't noticed any name to this soap, unlike many of the others in the store.

"No, it is! Look," he says, and he punches in the product code on the sticker. The register display soon scrolls, in block letters: STRAIGHT MAN SOAP.

"Huh..." I say.

"And you like it, right?" the owner asks.

"Sure, yeah, it smells good. I'm going to use it in the shower."

"And, you're straight, right?" he says, looking over at my wife.

"Sure" I smile.

"See!" he concludes, "I know it every time. Every time a guy picks up one of these and buys it, I know they're straight. That's why I call it straight man soap!"

To which we all start laughing. We wrap up our purchases and head out, still giggling over the encounter.

I can't imagine buying soap anywhere else now. And I bet no one else has my straight man soap, for that matter.

Cupcake Royale Reveals A "Royale With Cheese"

The cupcake mavens over at Cupcake Royale have released a new cake of the month: the Royale with Cheese. In their words:

A seriously rich swirl of [cream cheese] pile high on our deliciously dark new chocolate cake Royale. Finished with a sweet sprinkling of dark chocolate curls...

Why, why is there not a Cupcake Royale near work?!

Seattle's Wet Summer Of 2008

Yeah, we know, it rains in Seattle, blah blah. Most locals will tell you that the summers are the counterexample: it gets warm (in the 80s) and a fair bit drier, myself included. Enter August 2008. According to Steven's Weather Vortex, this has been the 5th wettest Seattle August on record.

Normally we get around an inch of August rain. So far, we've gotten 2.86 inches. That's right, over 200% of normal. Add to that the cooling effect of the rain and the darkening effect of the clouds, and it's been hard to look out the window lately and call it Summer, at least with a straight face.

Like true Seattlelites, though, we maintain hope and resolve. Take, for example, the forecast of decreasing rain by this weekend, with a high of 70 degrees and sun by Labor Day! Sound cold, Phoenixites, what with your 95-100 degree days? Hey, it's all relative.

Gus Vs. Elastic

This is Gus, moments before pouncing on an elastic being dangled above his head. Yes, we buy him those fancy pet store toys. But he loves the simple, cheap, 50-to-a-pack hair elastics the best. So much so that he gets up on the bathroom counter every morning after breakfast and practically begs us to give him his toy.

Photo: Dosewallips

Despite the serene look of this photo, it was really windy on the way to the beach at the Dosewallips State Park, and some dark rain clouds were gathering when we were heading back to our campsite.

Lies In Headlines

I hate it when news mediums go the sensationalistic route. Take, for example, this article. The headline:

If trends continue, we’ll all be fat in 40 years

Whoa! And the subheadline:

Researchers: By 2048, every American could be at least slightly overweight

Whoa! Could that be true? Is it really possible that every single American could be at least a little overweight in 40 years? That's easy: no. And the article admits this:

“Genetically and physiologically, it should be impossible” for all U.S. adults to become overweight, said Dr. Lan Liang...However, she told Reuters Health, the data suggest that if the trends of the past 30 years persist, “that is the direction we’re going.”

Ah, so the headline should have been: American obesity rates are on the rise. But that wouldn't be as eye-catching or sensational, now, would it? And, it's not really news given recent reports on obesity rates, is it?